A Thanksgiving Psalm

Nick Minerva • Nov 25, 2020

Hashtag blessed.


If you are like me, just reading that makes your skin crawl and makes you throw up a little bit in your mouth. (If you are reading this on a full stomach, sorry. Hashtag gross.) My reasoning is that #blessed is not normally used to express heartfelt gratitude for the blessings of God, but is generally used to brag about something while trying to appear humble. But if I were to be completely honest it’s a lot easier for me to be snarky about a hashtag than it is for me to be intentional about expressing gratitude for all that God has done for me. The Holy Spirit has used Psalm 100 to reorient my mind and help me express thanksgiving and gratitude toward God.

 

This Psalm is alive with grateful adoration towards God and for this reason, has been a favorite among believers ever since it was written. The theme that we see throughout it is knowing God leads to praising God. As we reflect on who he is, and what he has done, our hearts will be filled with thanksgiving and praise. Charles Spurgeon said about this Psalm “In this divine lyric we sing with gladness the creating power and goodness of the Lord, even as before with trembling we adored His holiness.” So let me encourage you to pause for a minute and praise God for who he is and what he has done.


A HEARTFELT ADORATION


Psalm 100:1-2, 4 Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to God! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before him with joyful songs. Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.

 

 

In these verses, we see that all of the earth is meant to praise God. The world will never be as it was meant to be until the whole earth praises God in worship. The same is true for us personally. We will never live the way we were designed without heartfelt praise of God. We were meant and created to worship God. This type of praise is more than just lip-service; it flows from our hearts, it affects our emotions, and it changes our thinking. Our hearts should be so filled with gladness that it bursts out in joyful song.


God created us to worship, praise, and sing. The beauty of Christ leads to grateful rejoicing. His glory draws worship from our hearts to our lips. This Christ-centered, thank-filled worship is the capstone over everything else we are and do in this life. That is why this Psalm tells us to serve the Lord with gladness. Living for God is a delight because of who He is! When we live with this realization even the most mundane parts of our lives can be turned into acts of worship.

 

A THOUGHTFUL ACKNOWLEDGEMENT


In Psalm 100 we see what is driving our heartfelt adoration. It affects our emotions, but that effect is driven by a deep understanding of truth. Rightful worship of God comes from the right acknowledgement of God. He is our Shepherd who leads us, protect us, and take care of us. God is our creator. We didn’t create ourselves. We are not here because of anything special that we did. We are here because of God. Everything we have, everything we are, we owe to God. We owe our very existence to Him! He is everything. 


If we are going to authentically worship and express genuine, heartfelt gratitude toward God, we have to thoughtfully acknowledge all that He has done for us. Charles Spurgeon said “Our worship must be intelligent. We ought to know who we worship and why.” (I know, two Spurgeon quotes in one post! Give me a break, it’s the holidays.) Our worship must be rooted in the truth of our relationship with God.


Psalm 100:5 For the LORD is good, and his faithful love endures forever; his faithfulness, through all generations.


The ultimate reason for our praise and thanks is God’s love, faithfulness, and goodness to us. God gives His salvation to those who are lost and condemned. He saves those who have no claim on him at all. He rescues those who can only be delivered by His free favor.


Consider how his faithful love has changed the course of your life. When we think about all that he has done for us how can we not be moved to worship?


Psalm 100

Let the whole earth shout triumphantly to the LORD!

Serve the LORD with gladness;

come before him with joyful songs.

Acknowledge that the LORD is God.

He made us, and we are his—

his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Enter his gates with thanksgiving

and his courts with praise.

Give thanks to him and bless his name.

For the LORD is good, and his faithful love endures forever;

his faithfulness, through all generations.

A Creed To Remind The Gathered Church Of Its New Life In Christ

By Nick Minerva • 14 Jul, 2023
When I was pastoring I wanted to read a blessing over the church that would remind all of us of our new life in Christ. So I wrote this new life creed and every week I would read it and remind us of what Christ had done for us. We gather together as believers professing our great need We acknowledge that we have fallen short We confess that we are rebels who have gone our own way Apart from Christ, we stand condemned, guilty, and unable to save ourselves But what we are incapable of doing, God did In his infinite love, God made a way of salvation for all who would believe Jesus willingly laid down his life and received the just punishment we deserve So that could walk in new life So yes, we confess our great need We humbly recognize that apart from Christ we are incapable of any good thing But we also proclaim that because of the finished work of the cross we will never be apart from Christ We are forever secure in the love of the Father We have been sealed by the Holy Spirit All because of the sacrifice of the Son, Jesus Christ. We are no longer in bondage to sin We are no longer facing righteous wrath We have been declared holy by our King And nothing on heaven or earth will change that reality This gathering is a testimony to our redeemed state We pursue holy living to be an authentic demonstration of the love we have for Christ We believe that we have been empowered by grace to meet our every need And we gladly anticipate the complete fulfillment of our adaption and the remaking of this world at the coming of our Lord To Christ be glory forever and ever Amen

A Praying Church: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 23 May, 2023
Prayer is one of those topics that always seems to convict me. I have never heard a sermon or read a book on prayer and not been challenged. Even as I am writing this review there is a bit of imposter syndrome because I know I should pray more. In A Praying Church , Paul Miller writes about how to become a people of hope in a discouraging world through prayer. And he does so in a way that was very authentic and accessible. While I was consistently challenged, I was also consistently encouraged. Throughout the book, he takes you on his journey of developing a personal prayer life plus countless stories of ministries that developed communal prayer as a vital component of their life together. One thing that struck home with me throughout these stories was the reality that prayer always grows out of desperation for God. There were several things that I found very helpful in this book. One of them was the connection between a life yielded to the Holy Spirit and a vibrant prayer life. The power to do anything of eternal importance comes from the Holy Spirit and the Spirit moves in response to prayer. Paul shows us a biblical pattern we see throughout the New Testament. Prayer-Spirit-Jesus-power. However, this is not a simple formula to get God to do what you want. Another thing I appreciated about this book is Paul tells us time and again that the Spirit often moves in ways we don’t expect and that almost always includes difficulties. The Spirit enables us to look more like Jesus and that means joining him in the fellowship of his suffering. So this is not a “how to turn God into your personal genie” scheme, like many books on prayer. God often answers in ways we don’t expect and in places we don’t anticipate. This book is also full of practical help. I’ve already mentioned the stories he tells, but Paul also offers several helpful charts, strategies, and ideas to help put into place what he writes about (and lives by.) At the end of each chapter, he has a section called “A Word To Pastors” with a few paragraphs of wisdom to help them become a person of prayer and then lead their congregation to become a church of prayer. This book also made me thankful that I am a part of a church that has sought to grow in corporate prayer over the last few years. This would be a great book for any ministry leader who is burdened with the prayer life of his or her church. But it’s also a great read for any believer seeking to develop their own prayer life. Crossway was kind to send me a free copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. You can get a copy of it at the affiliate link below.

Non-Toxic Masculinity: A Book Review

By Nick Minerva • 28 Apr, 2023
Let me start this review by saying everyone should read this book. If you've grown up in Evangelicalism, you‘ve no doubt heard of purity culture. For the last several years we have seen the harm that has come as a result of this sub-group of Christianity. In Non-Toxic Masculinity, Zachary Wagner does an excellent job unpacking its teaching and the damage that has come as a result. He explains so well the angst I've been feeling with the movement and how often the Church falls short and winds up doing more damage. But unlike many critiques, this one also points a way forward. We know what toxic male sexuality looks like. We see it in the news and unfortunately, in the Church. But what does healthy male sexuality look like? What does it look like for me? What will it look like for my boys? In my heart, I know what I want it to look like, but so often I struggle to find the right words to express it. Non-Toxic Masculinity paints a healthy picture that is (re)humanizing and ultimately looks like Jesus, who, like all of us, had a sexual body. Zach is also very transparent in this book and God used his transparency to encourage, challenge, and convict me. As you read his story you will no doubt find yourself resonating with him on some level. Every man should read this book for themselves first and foremost. But if you have sons, nephews, grandsons, or young boys in your life, reading it is a must. Non-Toxic Masculinity is a breath of fresh air that will prove to be a tremendous resource for generations. Thank you Zach for writing it and sharing your story to serve us.
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